BUSINESS PLAN: ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX
Léo Locati
Student N°71787
Project submitted as partial requirement for the conferral of Master in
International Management
Supervisor:
Prof. António da Silva Robalo, Prof. Catedrático, ISCTE Business School,
Departamento de Marketing, Operações e Gestão Geral
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I.!
ABSTRACT
1.! ENGLISH SUMMARYBusiness plans are most of the time established in order to help founders to discover strengths and face up the challenges that can appear when developing a company. Besides, the empirical and theoretical researches conducted for the completion of a Business Plan usually foster founders to reach sustainability and durability of the firm. The aim of this thesis is to serve the author with crucial information in order to build a business plan and to see whether it would be profitable to establish the venture or not. The business idea to be presented further operates in the touristic industry, providing to customers a monthly subscription box about specific destinations. Knowing that the business idea comes from two long-time friends who are willing to start their business from scratch one day, the author Léo Locati narrates the Business Plan including both of the potential founders of the start-up.
Throughout the following thesis, the author built a business plan according to the experiences and the competences acquired through her five years of studies. The thesis is composed with a literature review based on the current situation of the touristic sector as well as a business plan, including strategic planning and financial evaluation.
Keywords: Business Plan; Start-up Planning; Subscription boxes industry; Business Administration; Marketing; Financial evaluation
2.! PORTUGUESE SUMMARY
Normalmente os planos de negócios podem ajudar os fundadores a descobrir pontos fortes e fracos e a enfrentar os desafios que podem aparecer ao desenvolver uma empresa. Para além disso, a pesquisa empírica e teórica, necessárias para a realização de um plano de negócios, ajuda os fundadores a alcançar a sustentabilidade e a durabilidade da empresa.
O objetivo desta tese é obter informações cruciais para construir um plano de negócios e saber se será lucrativo avançar com o projecto. A ideia de negócio na indústria turística a ser apresentada consiste em oferecer aos clientes uma subscrição mensal com uma caixa todos os meses, incluindo diferentes descontos, guias turísticos e outras informações sobre destinos específicos. A ideia de negócio vem de dois amigos de longa data e a autora Leo Locati narra o Plano de Negócios, incluindo os dois fundadores potenciais da start-up.
Ao longo da tese, a autora criou um plano de negócios de acordo com as experiências e as competências adquiridas através dos seus cinco anos de estudos. A tese é composta por uma revisão da literatura baseada na situação atual do setor turístico, bem como por um plano de
II.! ACKNOLEDGMENTS
Throughout this business plan, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the University of Hull, the University of Lisbon ISCTE and their educational coordinators, for bringing me valuable knowledge and awareness on how to live with people from different cultures and to build its professional project.
I would like to present my acknowledgments to Mrs. Loustalet, a packaging start-up founder, who inspired me to establish my own business project. I am grateful for her precious advice and for her assistance. I have learned to appreciate and understand the stakes of creating a venture from scratch thanks to her guidance throughout this business plan.
To these acknowledgements I also would like to express my biggest thank to Maëva Cordonnier and Adèle Benoit who participated to the questionnaire I made. Without them, I would not have been able to understand potential customers’ needs and the subscription box industry. Moreover, their answers enabled me to angle my business plan in a better way.
Eventually, without KEDGE Business School and the EBP International team, I would not have been able to access such experiences, which really motivated me to create my business. That is why I also would like to thank them for their support during these last five years.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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!LIST OF FIGURES ... III! LIST OF TABLES ... IV!
III.! EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ... 1!
IV.! LITERATURE REVIEW ... 3!
1.! OVERVIEW OF SME IN EUROPE ... 3!
2.! GROWTH OF THE TOURISM SECTOR ... 4!
3.! STAKES OF DIGITALISATION ... 4!
4.! HISTORY OF THE SUBSCRIPTION BOXES ... 5!
V.! COMPANY DESCRIPTION ... 6!
1.! MARKET OPPORTUNITY ... 6!
2.! TEAM ... 7!
3.! STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS ... 10!
4.! THE PRODUCT AND SERVICE ... 12!
5.! MISSION, VISION AND VALUE STATEMENT ... 15!
VI.! INDUSTRY PROFILE AND OVERVIEW ... 17!
VII.! MARKET ANALYSIS ... 20!
1.! MARKET SEGMENTATION AND TARGETING ... 20!
2.! CONSUMER BEHAVIOR ... 22!
3.! COMPETITOR ANALYSIS ... 25!
VIII.! MARKETING PLAN ... 27!
1.! SWOT ANALYSIS ... 27! 2.! MARKETING MIX ... 32! I.! Product ... 33! II.! Price ... 34! III.! Place ... 36! IV.! Promotion ... 38! IX.! EXAMPLE ... 42! X.! FINANCIAL EVALUATION ... 45!
1.! TURNOVER OF ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX ... 45!
2.! COSTS OF THE SUBSCRIPTION BOXES ... 46!
3.! PROFITABILITY ... 48!
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XI.! CONCLUSION ... 50!
1.! THE FUTURE OF ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX ... 50!
2.! PERSONAL LEARNING AND SELF-DEVELOPMENT ... 50!
XII.! BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 51!
III
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 – Example of ‘ROUNG THE GLOBOX subscription box Figure 2 – Five stage process (Keller, K. & Kotler, P. 2006)
Figure 3 – SWOT Analysis
Figure 4 – Screenshot of Adenorah profile on Instagram (Instagram) Figure 5 – Tourism highlights (World Tourism Organization, UNWTO)
IV
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 – Profit and Loss account for the three first year of activity of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX
Table 2 – Variable costs involved for the business activity
Table 3 – Fixed expenses involved by ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX activity Table 4 – Profitability chart for ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX
Table 5 – Overview of the investments needed for the establishment of the business Table 6 – Liquidity Plan, amounts in €
Table 7 –Financing Plan, amounts in € Table 8 – Personnel, amounts in € Table 9 – Fixed Expenses, amounts in € Table 10 – Variable costs, amounts in € Table 11 – Sales revenues, amounts in €
III.! EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Internet has made the whole world accessible, to such an extent that it is hard to know which way to look when it comes to organizing a trip. How are you supposed to do when you do not want to organize your trips by yourself? When you lack time to plan anything? The option of tour operator seems nowadays a bit dusty… So for a cool, cheap, authentic, modern trip, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX is here to take the lead.
‘ROUND THE GLOBOX is an eco-friendly subscription box showcasing a new destination every month. This cardboard and decorative box comes with a travel guide, local and promotional products linked with the destination, as well as attractive discounts on local activities, to enjoy each month in your mail box. Besides, that innovative concept is available for as little as 24,99€ per month.
The mission of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders, is to convey a passion for travel and help customers thrive in the destinations they want to discover, by offering them useful, joyful and innovative tools to organize and plan their trips.
Inès and Léo, the founders of the idea, are long-time friends and studied Business Administration and Purchasing together in Bordeaux. Passionate about traveling and discovering new cultures, they strongly believe that by drawing on their shared experiences, and by combining the knowledge and skills acquired throughout their five years of studies, they can bring ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX to life.
The founders plan to target prospective customers between 25 and 40 years old attracted by discovering and traveling all around the world. Besides, they aim to target active people, who are following the technological trends as the social networks and sharing communities.
Although actors are numerous within the tourism sector, the touristic guide industry is suffering from obsolescence. Indeed, more and more people are using internet and are influenced by social networks to organize their trips. That is why, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders aim to refresh the travel guide concept by riding on the wave of subscription boxes.
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Inès and Léo plan to sell 4,760 boxes within the first year, therefore helping to realize 118,952€ of sales revenues. Besides, strongly committed to their project, the founders provide 20,000€ personal input.
The subscription box market is a flourishing industry, experiencing numerous fund raising, and therefore showing the growing interest of investors in the concept. (Mareek, M., 2016). That is why Inès and Léo need you, investors, to believe in their innovative project of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX, by reading through this Business Plan. Let yourself be enchanted by the idea of travelling easily, and help the founders to establish a start-up that will become a reference within the tourist and subscription boxes markets.
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IV.! LITERATURE REVIEW
In our constantly evolving world, the unsteady economic context as well as the extremely competitive environment can expand the reluctance of starting a business from scratch. That is why it is paramount to take into consideration the barriers to which founders of an entity can be faced, by writing a business plan. According to Barringer & Ireland (2010), the action of establishing a planning stimulates the auto-entrepreneur to pay attention to the main priorities and objectives of building its company. Besides, this exercise enables to understand the context in which the product or service will be launched. It also aims to identify the tasks to achieve in order to avoid important matters and meet the targets wanted. Finally, the planning helps to project the profitability of the venture (Delmar & Shane, 2003). As a result, a business plan supports founders of start-ups to announce the activity and aims of the business, which are a necessary condition to achieve a successful company and to obtain potential investors in the business, such as suppliers, customers and collaborators. (Gartner & Liao, 2009.)
The literature review will enable founders to understand the current situation of the touristic industry as well as consider whether it would be interesting and profitable to launch a business within this sector. Besides, the literature research will provide crucial information regarding the following interrogations:
-! Are there remaining business opportunities within the tourism sector? -! How come the subscription box market is flourishing?
-! What are the stakes of digitalisation?!
1.! OVERVIEW OF SME IN EUROPE
In recent years, a trend has been recorded in the business world: people are increasingly tending to develop their own business. Indeed, according to an OECD study, “the overall number of SMEs in the total economy increased in the euro area”
between 2009 and 20131. Within the population of auto-entrepreneurs willing to create
their own business, 29% are aged between 20 and 29 years old2, according to another
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http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/industry-and-services/entrepreneurship-at-a-glance-2016_entrepreneur_aag-2016-en#page36
2 Beziau J., Rousseau S., Mariotte H., « Auto-entrepreneurs immatriculés en 2014 : 54 % de ceux qui démarrent
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survey achieved in 2014 by INSEE, which highlights the fact that young people are attracted by implementing their own products or services into the market. For these students or recently graduated people, entrepreneurship represents a driving force for
the economic development3, and enables auto-entrepreneurs to get involved in a
project of special interest to them.
2.! GROWTH OF THE TOURISM SECTOR
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel only read one page”, Saint Augustine. Over the past sixty years, the tourism industry has expanded significantly
and has increasingly diversified. According to the UNWTO4, tourism became one of
the biggest economic sectors, representing the fastest-growing worldwide. Therefore, in addition to the favourite destinations as European and North American states, lots of new countries came into existence in people’s minds. In 2015, the UNWTO report recorded 1186 millions of tourists traveling around the world, half of which were willing to take a holiday for discovering new countries and cultures. Therefore, these figures show that people are constantly willing to take good time and that the number is evolving every year. Thus, meaning that the tourist sector is living a significant growth. Such acknowledgments suggest that business opportunities are remaining in the tourism industry.
3.! STAKES OF DIGITALISATION
Generally, in order to facilitate their holidays, people tend to organize their trips in advance, thanks to different means made available to them. Nowadays, travel guides and Internet represent the main tools that people use for booking and planning their holidays. While the printed press is suffering and digital books are booming, le Guide
du Routard5, Lonely Planet and others still seem to have good days ahead. Driven by
the growing appetite of people for leisure, Travel Guide companies still sell 10
millions copies a year in France6. However, although they are the Bible of the modern
3 Belgacem, I. (2015). Un tiers des jeunes Français voudraient créer leur entreprise. [online] Le Monde.fr.
Available at: http://www.lemonde.fr/campus/article/2015/02/03/un-tiers-des-jeunes-francais-voudraient-creer-leur-entreprise_4569037_4401467.html [Accessed 23 May 2017].
4 The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency mandated with the
promotion of respondable, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
5 French collection of travel guides
6 Husson, L. (2016). Pourquoi les guides touristiques restent incontournables. [online] Challenges. Available at:
https://www.challenges.fr/media/edition/les-guides-touristiques-compagnons-de-route-indemodables_13392 [Accessed 20 May 2017].
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traveller, the market of travel guides knows a rapid transition. This market has been very affected by the digitalisation for a few years. In fact, travellers’ behaviours are changing and their expectations are in constant evolution. Nowadays, the market of travel guides continues to shrink (-2.7% in number of copies and -4.3% in sales according to Ipsos figures). Furthermore, according to a study conducted by Raffour Interactif, 71% of the French who went on holidays in 2016 have prepared their stays
on the Internet, half of which fully booked all or part of their stays online7.
Consequently, these figures enable to emphasize on the fact that travel guides have experienced a considerable success, however, it is paramount to highlight that they are facing a significant obsolescence. That is why, travel guides must be reinvented, in order to meet travellers’ requirements, which is opening business opportunities.
4.! HISTORY OF THE SUBSCRIPTION BOXES
The history of subscription boxes started in the United States, when Katia Beauchamp and Hayley Barna, two Harvard University students, presented in September 2010 the BirchBox, which was the first beauty box on the market. Sold at a price of ten dollars a month, the offer allows to receive, directly at home, a nice surprise box which contains five branded beauty products, selected by members of the BirchBox team. The success is immediate. In 2011, it is France’s turn to make beauty boxes emerged, with the launch of JolieBox by Mathilde Lacombe from the blog La Vie en Blonde, and four other partners (JolieBox will be bought by the American BirchBox in September 2012) and GlossyBox created by The German investor group Rocket Internet. Shortly thereafter, this will be the launch of My Little Box by the website of good addresses, My Little Paris, with the success that we know him.Subsequently, new competitors will enter the beauty sector, including My Sweetie Box, and Betrousse (who are part of the same group) who are also experiencing a growing number of subscribers. Since then, the subscription box market has been constantly evolving, bringing the fact that the market is flourishing. However, according to Michael Mareek, it has been noticed that successful subscription box companies are relying on strategic and powerful marketing strategies, showing that new entrants have better establish thoughtful approaches before entering the market.
7 Cherrier, V. (2015). Tourisme en ligne : 71 % des Français préparent leur voyage sur le web | APST. [online]
Apst.travel. Available at: https://www.apst.travel/2015/07/23/71-des-francais-partis-ont-prepare-leurs-sejours-sur-internet/ [Accessed 21 May 2017].
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V.! COMPANY DESCRIPTION
‘ROUND THE GLOBOX is a start-up specialized in increasing customer willingness to travel in the tourism sector. By offering a unique travel experience to clients, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX provides a more humane and connected guide, that can be accessed from anywhere and by anyone, thus encouraging people to take a holiday and travel. The company enables explorers to discover, every month, a city by way of a touristic guide, an application, as well as samples of local and promotional products and discounts on touristic activities of the destination. The product that our start-up is offering is delivered at home and in an environmentally responsible box, which can easily be reused as a keepsake and decorative box. ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX aims to reinforce people’s willingness to travel, by helping them to plan their trips easily and by sharing personal experiences on the places to be discovered. After all, accompanying customers and staying as close as possible to them is the key to achieve customer satisfaction.
‘ROUND THE GLOBOX products and services will be further developed below in the section “Product and Service”.
As regards to the name of the company to be established, both of the founders Inès and Léo, came up with the idea of creating a business because they were passionate about traveling and about communities encountered around their numerous trips. Moreover, they had in mind to share their experiences with people. Knowing that the founders’ aim is to offer subscription boxes to customers, they wanted to have the “noun” box into the name of the company. Besides, Inès and Léo are willing to establish a start-up around travel guides, offering products and advice about destinations all around the world. That is why the name of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX came into their mind. In fact, the brand name is mixing “Around the Globe” and “Box”, which is transparent enough so that potential customers can understand easily the sector of the business.
1.! MARKET OPPORTUNITY
An opportunity is a “favourable set of circumstances that creates the need for a new product, service or business idea” (Barringer & Ireland, 2010). What is essential for the entrepreneur is to observe the trends around him, in order to understand if there is a need for a product or service in the market in question, that adds value for its
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customers. Opportunities might be identified through several factors which are the following: economic and social forces, technological advance as well as political and
regulatory changes8.
The founders of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX noticed that “a growing industry of stylish subscription services is banking on the joy of the unexpected gift, offering to deliver a box of surprises to your doorstep every month” (Christina Binkley, 2013). According to Michael Mareek, the founder of boxes comparator websites, the industry of the subscription box is enjoying early stages, and still far from the saturation. Moreover, even if some Box businesses failed, there are numerous fund raising in the industry, showing the growing interest of investors in the concept. (Mareek, M., 2016).
Alongside the subscription boxes concept, authors emphasize on the fact that the touristic guide industry is suffering from obsolescence. According to a Gfk Omnibus Tourisme study, even if 60% of French people buy travel guides before organizing and going on holidays, customer expectations and needs are constantly evolving (GOT, 2010). Furthermore, 71% of French people planned their trips on the Internet in 2015 (Cherrier, V., 2015), highlighting the definite need to upgrade the travel guide.
2.! TEAM
The current team of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX consists of two people, who decided to start to explore the tourism industry with the idea of encouraging people to travel. The founders are long-time friends, who have studied business administration together for five years. Born into families of business people, the willingness to innovate and the entrepreneurship spirit have always been driving them. These two girls have been traveling around many countries throughout academic, professional or humanitarian experiences. Furthermore, they have lived abroad together during two years. Therefore, they have experienced much about traveling all around the world. Besides, the current founders have always been interested in discovering new cultures and have been attracted by the unknown. Repeatedly, the two founders have convinced investors to put together ten thousand euros of budget in order for them two to get engaged in
8 Barringer, B.R. & Ireland, R.D. 2016. Entrepreneurship: Successfully launching new ventures. 5th ed. Pearson
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humanitarian causes to help African population in needs (children in Morocco as well as farmers in Zambia). Sharing experiences and live it up is their motto. Consequently, the idea of encouraging people to travel and discover new places originated naturally from their mind; how to be able to provide the willingness to go on holidays and how to provide necessary tools for customers to plan their holidays efficiently.
Furthermore, during their journeys, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders were accustomed to write their experiences in a kind of travel diary, in order for them to remember their trips all life long. Besides, these travel diaries written for each journey allowed them to narrate their encounters as well as the good addresses and good deals they discovered all around the places they visited. During these numerous travels, Inès and Léo, the founders of the box, realized that journeys need to be adapted to people, to their needs and adventurousness. Indeed, people are different, and it is difficult to find travel itineraries that please every traveller. Thus, the founders saw a market opportunity where they could offer to people specific routes, adapted to their preferences and tastes. Moreover, Inès and Léo realized that good deals were rarely shared on internet, thus they are willing to create a real community of travel lovers who will be able to share their experiences, encounters and good deals on the website and application.
On the one hand, one of the founders of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX, Inès Loustalet, has always been engaged in the creation of successful ventures. Ms Loustalet graduated from KEDGE Business school with a Master in International Purchasing and Innovation Management, where she acquired essential knowledge for negotiating and convincing investors. While Inès was studying, she has participated to numerous entrepreneurship events called Start-up weekends, where students meet in teams in order to create and present their innovative venture in front of a jury. She once has won the first prize with her team, motivating her to pursue her commitment to entrepreneurship. Moreover, in parallel with her studies, she has been working for her mother’s start-up for five years, a company offering innovative packaging to business willing to sell gift boxes. Ms Loustalet therefore gained valuable knowledge and skills about how to run a company, and how to be successful. Finally, Inès Loustalet is currently fully dedicating herself to making ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX flourish.
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On the other hand, the second founder and author of this business plan Léo Locati, attained a Bachelor in Business Administration in England before attending a double-degree master in International Management with ISCTE Business School in Lisbon as well as KEDGE Bordeaux Business School, where she learned crucial tools to understand different cultures and to manage people. Having grown up in a family who has travelled all around the world, she met inspiring people in several countries, who encouraged her to follow her passion and to embark on a thrilling adventure. Sharing with heartening people assured the belief of her abilities to establish something valuable and noteworthy. Consequently, knowing that the travel guide that the two founders want to launch is offering a selection of good addresses narrated through enriching encounters and anecdotes, people Léo has met during her journeys represent a significant opportunity of nourishing the touristic guides. That being said, Ms Locati is currently working hard on gathering powerful stories to be included in the future travel guides, in order for ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX to see the day light as soon as possible.
Both Inès and Léo strongly believe that by drawing on their unconditional friendship as well as their shared experiences and adventures, and by combining the knowledge and skills acquired throughout their five years of studies, they can bring ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX to life. The joy of life, the determination and humane values that the founders are sharing, contribute to the development of a thriving business. The deepest thought they want their venture to cultivate and be established on is the passion of sharing experiences with people, and learning from them by being receptive to their feelings and lives. Moreover, Ms Locati and Loustalet are deeply concerned about the entrepreneurship world and constantly seek for requirements to become good company leaders.
Although the humane values and the willingness to build a flourishing business is one of the keys of the success, the founders of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX are facing significant hurdles. According Dominique Restino, founding member of the Young and Student Entrepreneurs Movement, “the youth has the unconsciousness and the enthusiasm necessary to jump ahead”. Among their strengths, young people cite with realism, their enthusiasm, but also their ability to work efficiently as well as the support provided by their relatives. However, they also rightly consider that their main
10 weaknesses are the lack of an industry-specific experience, limited financial resources
as well as the market and investors reluctance9. People like investors or clients, who
have been acquiring experience for many years in the tourism industry might be reluctant to listen to two newly-graduated girls without significant experience in that topic. Indeed, the creditability of the founders might be questioned at some point. That is why, it is paramount for ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders, to believe in their enthusiasm to convince stakeholders and to focus on their business reliability. Furthermore, “an entrepreneur with longer experience in an industry may also entrench in the existing system and structure, which blindsides him or her from recognizing opportunities and threats” as Liao, Moutray & Welsh (2009) referenced in their study. That being said, it means that being young and entrepreneurs can bring positive outcomes, like the openness acquired through studies abroad as well as innovative ideas flourishing from young minds.
3.! STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS
Most successful people agree that the trajectory of people’s career and life, will be dictated by the relationships they build and the experiences they have. That is why networking is important, and more than that, expected. Will Kintish wrote that “even if your role is not explicitly to bring in new business or to market the company, you are probably expected, as most people are, to meet new people and understand the market place as part of your role”.
The founders of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX are aware that it is paramount to rely on valuable relationships to establish a successful venture. That being said, Inès and Léo decided to be opportunistic and responsive, by going through their network and evaluating people able to bring significant knowledge and advice to the creation of their business. This strategy will enable both of the founders a true learning through important personalities who had been working in the industry for a long time.
One of the precious relation ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders decided to take into account and approach is Corinne Loustalet, Inès’ mother, who have launched her
9 Belgacem, I. (2015). Un tiers des jeunes Français voudraient créer leur entreprise. [online] Le Monde.fr.
Available at: http://www.lemonde.fr/campus/article/2015/02/03/un-tiers-des-jeunes-francais-voudraient-creer-leur-entreprise_4569037_4401467.html [Accessed 23 May 2017].
11 business five years ago, after having worked for an international packaging company for fifteen years. Knowing that ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX products will be offered in an ecologically friendly box, the founders will have to create a packaging from scratch, meeting specific requirements. Indeed, the box will need to be ecologically friendly, lightweight to be delivered easily, designed to contain the pocket guide, the local products as well as the discounts, and beautiful in order to attract customers. Corrine Loustalet, founder of Coandco pack, decided to get on board of Inès and Léo’s innovative project, and became the mentor of the founders for the product development, thanks to her extensive knowledge of the packaging industry. Furthermore, Coandco pack founder as also been an inspiration for ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX project managers, knowing that she created her own successful ventures; an additional opportunity for them to receive valuable advice to establish their concept. Alongside building a relation of trust with Mrs Loustalet, the founders focused on having a close partnership with their business school incubators. In fact, Kedge launched the Business Nursery in 2012, which is an incubator, helping students or young graduates to develop their business ideas, by providing useful tools and valuable workshops. Depending on the feasibility of the business idea, and the potential profitability of it, that business incubator might become an investor within the business. Thus, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders are strongly motivated to show the passion that drives them to the Business Nursery team. That being said, the collaboration with this incubator will bring extremely valuable expertise and guiding tools to ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX team.
Furthermore, thanks to the openness acquired through their numerous experiences abroad, Inès and Léo met many inspiring people along their path. Knowing that the travel guide that will be offered to customers is based on anecdotes from local people, these encounters ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders made all around the world will feed the travel narrative. Therefore, it represents a crucial help on their business development and establishment.
Consequently, it is paramount to highlight that through relationships of trust, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders acquire valuable knowledge and advice, strongly influencing them in the development of their business idea. Besides, according to Will Kintish,
12 networking is a virtuous circle; “if done right, meeting more people leads to more business and career opportunities, which leads to meeting more people and more business, and so on,” the author said.
4.! THE PRODUCT AND SERVICE
Figure 1 – Example of ‘ROUNG THE GLOBOX subscription box (Personal representation)
To this day, the subscription boxes market is a flourishing industry. On the other side, the touristic guides remain essential products in a saturated market in need of renewal. Therefore, the business idea is to create an environmentally friendly subscription box, combining an out of the ordinary, joyful and connected travel guide, useful discounts on activities as well as local and promotional products about travel to provide to the customer, a glimpse of the city to be visited. These products will be available on the Internet, on a website established by the founders.
The added value of the idea is to provide different options of subscription, according to customer needs and expectations. Indeed, the founders of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX believe that everyone is special and that is why they aim to offer an innovative product, enabling clients to choose between several products, depending on what customers are looking for. When entering the website interface, customers will be able to fill in a questionnaire about their tastes and preferences about travel. This form will enable ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders to understand better customers’ expectations and needs. Therefore, the reactive team of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX will adapt the
13 routes, local products as well as discounts based on the characteristic of each customer.
Both of the founders thought about creating a website, which would be an attractive interface to explain the concept as well as the products made available to customers. It is paramount to clarify the offer for the potential clients of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX, so that there is no misunderstanding. Thus, below are the clear explanations of the subscription options that will be posted on the website, as well as the products provided with the box:
As mentioned previously, the subscription box contains a travel guide, which is the main item of the box, typical products showcasing local craftsmen as well as useful discounts on local activities as museum, restaurants, tours, etc. This constitutes the opportunity for the customer to have a quick overview of his or her destination:
-! The travel guide: a humane and connected tool
A pocket guide relating the author-traveller stories in the city in question, providing to the customer a selection of good and already experienced addresses, approved and narrated throughout funny encounters and anecdotes. Thus, an innovative touristic guide, bringing the opportunity to start the adventure in a living room and to end it planned anywhere the customer pleases. Moreover, this pocket guides comes with an application enabling users to facilitate their stay through the possibility to create itineraries, to book visits or places to sleep, as well as to upload pictures or videos to share with the ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX community.
-! Typical products: local craftsmen creations and promotional products about travel
In order for the customer to receive a small piece of the featured city, the founders of the start-up decided to include local products in the travel box. Indeed, as well as the pocket guide providing useful tips about the city, Inès and Léo found a considerable interest in offering typical products made by local artisans. It is therefore a way of showcasing these craftsmen, by highlighting their talented work. Besides, it also gives the opportunity to the customer to discover typical products from the city he or she is going to visit. Between gastronomic products, DIY, stationery or art pieces, customers will be able to make a sensory encounter with the city. In addition to these local
14 products, Inès and Léo aim to promote products from well-know brands in order to finance a part of their box, and for customers to discover new products linked with the travel industry (solar cream, beauty products, travel accessories, etc).
-! Attractive discounts: a chance not to be missed
In addition to the first items, subscribers will open a box full of surprises. What better way to organize a trip than receiving in advance, discounts for activities on the field? The founders realized through their previous experiences abroad that planning a journey is an arduous task. Indeed, depending on the destination, hotels are sometimes fully booked, museums really expensive, restaurants difficult to evaluate. That is why, to answer to these problematics, Inès and Léo have had the idea to offer to customers of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX, the opportunity to benefit from attractive discounts, either for tour guides, restaurants, or hotels and even typical events. Subscribers will be able to use these discounts through the application made available to them, or by printing in advance these vouchers to present on the spot. Another opportunity for customers to travel from their living room, awakening their desire to discover.
On top of the products made available to subscribers, the founders thought about several and different membership, to meet people requirements. Whether the customers are simple travellers or real globe-trotters, they will find the subscription that suit them and will have the chance to discover new destinations every month:
-! The stroller
A non-binding monthly subscription that enables the customer to receive as many boxes as he or she wants, without being committed for a specified period of time.
-! The traveller
A three-month subscription therefore providing three ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX packages, so that the client can try it for a small period of time.
-! The explorer
That subscriptions offers to the customer to buy a six-boxes package, meaning that he or she will receive one box a month during six months. It enables the client to receive
15 several different destinations travel guides in order to be guided in his or her seek for adventure.
-! The globe-trotter
Compared to the previous subscription, this one is a twelve-month binding contract which provides customers with a box per month for twelve months. This offer is oriented to people willing to travel a lot, showing a thirst for discovery.
For these four previous options of subscription, the price will obviously decrease according to the size of the subscription. Indeed, to achieve profits as well as customer loyalty, it is important to demonstrate attractive offers.
-! The gift box
This is the last option for customers to get involved in the ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX experience. The founders Inès and Léo thought that it would be a great idea to give the opportunity to customers to offer one of the boxes available on the website for a special occasion. These presents will enjoy a special packaging depending on the occasion of the gift (wedding, birthday, mother’s day, etc.) and will also provide the customer with a surprise coming from one of the partner brands of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX. For instance, if one customer choses the Gift Box for mother’s day, it will
come with flowers from a partnership with Interflora10.
5.! MISSION, VISION AND VALUE STATEMENT
According to Johnson & Scholes (2014), a mission is the organisation’s “most generalized statement of purpose and can be thought of as an expression of its raison d’être”. The mission summarizes the reason for existing of the business and represents the starting point for recognizing the future direction. Therefore, the mission helps to acknowledge the strategic developments to follow. The mission of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX is to convey a passion for travel and help customers thrive in the destinations they want to discover, by offering them useful, joyful and innovative tools to organize and plan their trips. Both of the founders agree with the fact that the mission is the essential purpose of the venture (Mintzberg et al., 2003). Not to be
10 Flower delivery service, Interflora. [online] Available at: https://www.interflora.co.uk/ [Accessed 23 May
16 confused with the objectives, constantly changing, which are intentions of the business, according to Mintzberg.
As regards to the vision, also called strategic intent, “it is an aspiration around which to focus the attention and energies of members of the venture” (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2009). The vision of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX start-up is to become a reference within the tourist and subscription boxes markets. Indeed, within the forthcoming years, the firm will be able to provide customers with valuable information about many destinations in Europe and all around the world, thus cultivating the image of travelling to rewarding.
Patrick M. Lencioni once said that “values initiatives have nothing to do with building consensus – they are about imposing a set of fundamental, strategically sound beliefs on a broad group of people”. Both founders of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX start-up strongly believe that humane values as well as unconditional willingness to share the passion of travel are paramount to become and remain successful. Inès and Léo also cherish integrity, honesty and care in all relationships with stakeholders as attributes to be fostered to a great extent. Finally, a fundamental thought of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX is to be conscientious with the world around us, especially because the firm offers an environmentally friendly product, and because the aim is to keep discovering the magnificence of Earth through travels.
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VI.! INDUSTRY PROFILE AND OVERVIEW
The founders of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX saw a significant market opportunity for their product by observing the trends regarding the subscription boxes. In order to better understand the market in which Inès and Léo were going to enter in, the founders mapped out how widely spread the subscribers of gift boxes and subscription boxes were. Indeed, numerous actors of gift boxes were established on the market to satisfy people’ expectations and requirements about leisure. However, by seeing that the vast demand was satisfied by beauty, food or wine products, they did not hesitate to keep on going with their idea of travel box.
In record time, the gift boxes as well as the subscription boxes imposed themselves as a must on the gift market. They are indeed perfectly adapted to the new household purchasing behaviour as these boxes are easy and convenient to buy or offer, suitable for all, and providing a real promise (unique experience or pleasure of receiving a surprise each month). However, these two different sectors, offering diverse content and established with distinct business models, are nowadays experiencing a common problematic. Indeed, once past the newness, the spectre of saturation and trivialisation of the offer hang around. Henceforth, what are today the main sources of growth for companies specialized in gift boxes? What resources have the latter to maintain or to create their attractiveness? How can they reach customers loyalty? And how can these companies ensure the concept sustainability?
In order to collect information about the market and the keys to become successful on the subscription market, which is not an easy task to accomplish, Inès and Léo, both of the founders of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX, managed to interview important actors of the sector. Indeed, they managed to come into contact with two employees of My Little Box, the leader of the subscription box on the beauty market. Adèle Benoit, Sales Manager and Maëva Cordonnier, Commercial Project Manager working at My Little Paris therefore dedicated one hour of their time to answer Léo’s questions about
the subscription box market11.
During the first part of the interview, Adèle and Maëva provided a brief overview of My Little Box Paris and the main figures describing the company. First of all, the
11!Interview of Adèle Benoit and Maëva Cordonnier, both working at My Little Box Paris, interviewed by Léo
18 entity became the leader on the beauty market for these kind of products on the French market, followed by Birchbox, the first actor who entered the subscription box market in the entire world. Nowadays, My Little Box counts 155 000 monthly subscribers all around the world, including 100 000 in France, 10 000 in the United Kingdom, 15 000 in Germany and 30 000 in Japan. Thanks to their marketing strategy, My Little Box Paris managed to attract customers all around the world. As regards to the turnover of the company, it was around 12 million in 2015 while the sales revenues exceeded 20 million in 2016, meaning that the business is expanding.
Concerning the market of the subscription box, the French market is divided into 3 main sectors, which are the beauty, the wine and the food. The main actors on the beauty sector are Birchbox and My Little Box, GlossyBox and Mon petit Ballon are the main companies on the wine sector and Kitchen Trotter on the food sector. According to the people interviewed, the latter are sharing the market of the subscription boxes among themselves.
Soon, the founders found out that numerous actors were active on the subscription box market, but noticed that no company was established on the travel market. That is why they decided to bring their project out to people and investors, in order to see whether it would be sustainable or not. Both of the founders of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX quickly noticed that “the first technique that an entrepreneur has available to discern the attractiveness of an industry is to study industry trends.” (Barringer & Ireland 2010, 171.) Therefore, the founders gathered information about the market trends from the academic books, the Internet and from interviewing people from the sector.
Throughout all these researches, Inès and Léo, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders, realized that successful companies selling subscription boxes were focusing on winning strategies. Although it is paramount to find out which entities are the leaders on the subscription market, and what are their market share, it is crucial to focus on building powerful strategies when establishing the business, and the economic models are numerous when it comes to subscription boxes. Michaël Mareek pointed out that some businesses do not even pay the products inside their boxes. And better, these companies are even likely to be paid by the brands to include their products in the
19
boxes12. Indeed, the subscription boxes enable brands to reach directly quite a few
customers and thus making them discover and try new products as well as new brands. It therefore represents for the brands to promote, an incredible marketing medium. Besides, in case the free access of products is not available for new companies such as ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX, another effective strategy is to hardly negotiate the purchase price of these products to be included in the box. Indeed, according to David
Azoulay13, co writer of the article on the flourishing market of the subscription boxes,
“without reaching a 30% margin on the box to be sold and sent out to the customer, it is difficult to survive”. According to him, the essential ingredients in order to become successful are the good purchasing price, an efficient communication strategy, an excellent customer service, and last but not least, an attractive and innovative product, with a good positioning.
In addition to the valuable advice of David Azoulay and Michaël Mareek, the inverwiew of Adèle Benoit and Maëva Cordonnier, both working at My Little Box Paris, brought out useful tips for ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders to take into account. Indeed, knowing that they are working for the leader of the beauty subscription box, they are aware of the trends to follow on the subscription box, and the mistake to avoid.
As regards to the leadership on the market, Léo asked both of the employees of My Little Box what were the keys to stay ahead of the competition and to remain the leader on the beauty market. The answers they gave strongly inspired Inès and Léo to take a lesson from their sayings in order to ensure sustainability and attractiveness of their new brand to be establish shortly. According to My Little Box employees, it is paramount to be challenging, in order to stay ahead from the competition, and to always offer something new to customers or prospective clients. Furthermore, it is also crucial for them to be immersive and experiential in order to please and meet people’ expectations and requirements about the products. Besides, Adèle and Maëva pointed
12 Azoulay, D. (2017). Le marché florissant des « box » mensuelles (The flourishing market of the subscription
boxes) | Bpifrance servir l'avenir. [online] Available at:
http://www.bpifrance.fr/A-la-une/Actualites/Le-marche-florissant-des-box-mensuelles-28234 [Accessed 23 May 2017].
13 Azoulay, D. (2017). Le marché florissant des « box » mensuelles (The flourishing market of the subscription
boxes) | Bpifrance servir l'avenir. [online] Available at:
20 out during the interview the importance of offering a qualitative and advanced content to potential customers, to have an irreproachable after sale service and finally to challenge oneself every day in order to surprise the customers daily.
To put everything into a nutshell, it is obvious that numerous actors are playing an important role within the subscription box industry, as Birchbox, My Little Box Paris, Le Petit Ballon, Glossybox, Kitchen Trotter. Besides, identifying the main actors of the sector is not the only challenge for new entrants, but also the winning strategies they use. Indeed, start-ups willing to enter the subscription box market have a greater interest in relying on the leader’s business model in order to become successful. Finally, one thing that both of the founders of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX strongly hope is that they will play in the top league of the subscription boxes companies in the future.
VII.! MARKET ANALYSIS
1.! MARKET SEGMENTATION AND TARGETING
In order to better meet the sales forecasts and the results expected for the company, it is paramount to focus on the people the founders want to attract with ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX products.
The product, thus the subscription box is designed to serve people willing to discover places and go on holidays but who either do not have time to organize their trips or who do not have enough money to pay travel agencies to plan everything for them. The major market segment will thus be the ones interested in traveling as well as the people attracted by innovative and up-to-date concepts.
Besides, prospective customers are also the ones surfing on the general trend of sharing communities. Knowing that Inès and Léo’s idea of box will mainly rely on people sharing experiences, anecdotes and knowledge about the cultures, it must be emphasized that the ones already adept at using applications as Airbnb, Blablacar, etc are likely to be attracted by ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX product. Moreover, according to a market investigation conducted by Léo Locati, 100% of people interested by the concept were regularly using sharing platforms or used them at least once in their life, meaning that ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX concept is likely to please many people.
21 Furthermore, the potential customers of the start-up are segmented based on their professional situation, since people earning more than 70 thousand euros are more likely to seek the services of travel agencies. That is why young actives on the job market are considered as the main target for ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders. Indeed, they earn enough money to subscribe to an innovative and attractive concept, however, they are more reluctant to spend much money on tour packages. This further argument might be supported by one of the answer of the survey conducted to 100 people earlier in the year. In fact, 70% of the respondents were ending their studies, starting their first job or under 5-year experience, meaning that young actives is considered as the main market segmentation for ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX innovative concept.
Another rather large influence factor for targeting the customers is the location, where do people live. According to Adèle Benoit and Maëva Cordonnier, both working at My Little Box Paris, 70% of their customers are people living or working in Paris, whereas
only 30% of their customers are living outside Paris in Province14. That being said, it
is noticeable that Inès and Léo, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders, need to focus the development and establishment of their business around Paris area. Besides, knowing that it is the capital of Paris, being established there will enable the founders to move around to see the partners or suppliers easily. But, talking about the prospective customers, it is paramount to focus on Parisian community, which represent the major customers of the subscription market.
People using social networks are also considered as prospective customers. Indeed, the more they can be affected by social medias and the advertising published on them, the more these social network users are likely to become customers of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX. As it will be mentioned below in the communication strategies, the innovative concept of Inès and Léo will strongly be leveraged and relayed on social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and the main others. Consequently, users of social networks represent an important segment of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX customers.
14 Interview of Adèle Benoit and Maëva Cordonnier, both working at My Little Box Paris, interviewed by Léo
22 Besides, needless to say that the ones already charmed and attracted by other subscription boxes, are likely to become customers of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX products.
An additional characteristic of the prospective customers to target is the age. Knowing that both of the founders strongly believe that ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX product is aimed to the ones surfing on the trend of sharing community, the young actives living in big cities as well as people active on the social networks, it is obvious that targeted market is people aged between 25 and 40 years old. Indeed, this age range encompasses all the characteristics mentioned above.
Finally, it is paramount to include into the prospective customers the numerous people willing to travel, but who are not satisfied by the travel guides as well as the travel agencies anymore. In fact, as previously mentioned, there is a kind of obsolescence of the touristic guides, and people are less and less satisfied by their content, meaning that it is an opportunity for ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders to attract customers from the competition.
To put everything into a nutshell, the target market covers the people between 25 and 40 years old, attracted by discovering and travelling all around the world. Besides, Inès and Léo want to target young active people, who are following the technological trends as the social networks and sharing communities. Moreover, the ones living in the French capital as well as big city as Bordeaux and Lyon, will also be the prospective customers of the start-up that the founders are willing to establish. Finally, people who already are consumers of subscription boxes as well as the ones reluctant to the efficiency of travel agencies or travel guides, are also considered as an important part of the potential customers ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders want to seduce.
2.! CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
As previously mentioned, the target market of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX are young actives between 25 and 40 years old willing to discover new concept while traveling. In Inès and Léo’ minds, the sales of their products will be oriented only to private
23 individuals. Indeed, knowing that both of the founders strongly believe in achieving their business by their own and through their relatives and acquaintances, they do not aim to offer their subscription boxes to business.
In other words, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders are willing to sell via B2C, which implies to maximize the value of the transaction, by ensuring to convert shoppers into buyers as aggressively and consistently as possible, in particular through impacting marketing and communication strategies. However, the entity founders do not aim to sell to business, also called B2B, knowing that it includes many steps for the buying process and that this strategy is relationship oriented.
When examining the buying decision process, it is helpful to follow the five stages framework introduced by John Dewey in the 1910. It therefore enables business entrepreneurs to align their sales strategy and to evaluate easily the buying process of
customers15. At the first stage of the process, the prospective customer feels the need
to buy a product or service. However, the purchase will not take place as long as the need is recognized. That is why ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders must put everything in place in order to trigger the need from customers, by external stimuli as advertising or attractive content on their Internet platform. It is noticeable that the need may also be triggered by internal stimuli, meaning that the potential customer could feel the need to buy ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX in order to organize its trip.
15 John Dewey, Five stage process from Keller, K. & Kotler, P. 2006. Marketing management. 12th ed. Pearson
Education. Upple Saddle River, New Jersey. !
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Figure 2 – Five stage process (Keller, K. & Kotler, P. 2006)
Besides, the second step of John Dewey’s process is the information search. In this stage, the prospective customer is going to seek information alongside their internal as well as external environment. Indeed, some customers will collect information from their relatives or acquaintances, also called the word of mouth. On the other side, another part of the prospective customers might collect information from advertisements, meaning that the communication strategy needs to be impacting. Consequently, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders decided to put all of their efforts in a powerful communication strategy in order to attract as many as customers possible, and this part will be mentioned below.
The third stage of the buying decision process is the evaluation of alternatives, during which the potential customers assess the various existing options based on numerous characteristics depending on their expectations and needs, as the quality, the price, the innovation of the product for instance.
Once customers have evaluated all the alternatives presented to them, the purchase decision comes to its end, and prospective customers become subscribers, in the case of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX. Inès and Léo are really focusing all their efforts to offer suitable products for the customers, answering to most of the needs and requirements identifies.
Last but not least, the post-purchase evaluation is the final step of John Dewey’s consumer buying process. There are some odds that customers postpone their purchase
25 decision due to some reasons. Indeed, it the final consumer of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX is not satisfied with the product, it can seriously damage Inès and Léo business’ brand image. That is why this last stage of the process is crucial, and not to be missed. Besides, during the interview with Adèle Benoit and Maëva Cordonnier, they insisted on the fact that My Little Box Paris intends to be irreproachable on the after sale service, in order to guarantee a satisfying brand image.
To conclude, it is paramount for ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders to take the time necessary to evaluate the behaviour of the prospective customers. The more the offer is adapted to people expectations and the implementation strategies are powerful and straightforward, the more the chances are to become successful for both of the founders of the subscription box.
3.! COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
That being said, it brought both of the founders of ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX to analyse the direct as well as the indirect competitors that could disturb the establishment of their business. Although there are no direct competitors, knowing that no other company is providing similar products as ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX is offering to customers, numerous indirect competitors may affect the profitability and success of the start-up.
-! Companies providing touristic guides
As laid down previously, big actors are already existing in the travel industry. Le guide du Routard, the main player of the French market was founded in 1973 and represents 40% of market share of the French travel guides sold. Another active and established company is Lonely Planet, created in 1972 in Melbourne, Australia and acquired in 2013 by NC2 Media (a US based media company engaged in the creation, acquisition, and distribution of quality video content and the development of the
technologies to make that possible)16. Many other travel guide companies are present
on the market, as GeoGuide, Footprint Handbooks, Rough guides, Michelin, Petit Futé, etc. These ventures stand for important competitors for ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX start-up as they are big actors within the sector, providing customers with useful advice on how to plan their holidays. However, these companies providing touristic guides are
16 Lonely Planet (2017). Story. [online] Lonelyplanet.com. Available at:
26 not offering turnkey trips to customers. Indeed, they give precious information but they do not organize the trip from scratch. Whether ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders want to offer itineraries in their boxes, with significant discount on the activities they will do during their trips. The business idea of Inès and Léo is actually mixing the touristic guides, the travel agencies and the subscription boxes.
-! The subscription box market
As newer on the market of the subscription box, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX could be faced to bigger players. For now, Birchbox, Wonderbox and other players are not providing the same products as the start-up will do. However, change happens fast, and there is a paramount challenge for ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX founders, in order to constantly seek out for competitive edge.
-! Internet and its booking platforms
Nowadays, around 40% of the global population has access to the Internet. The
number of users has increased tenfold from 1999 to 201317, meaning that people are
more and more using electronic media instead of printed format when looking for information. Indeed, you can do everything by your own today, and by using Internet, people do not even have to pay to find out useful information about anything. Moreover, as regards to the tourism industry, numerous booking platforms are made available to customers in order for them to organize their trip easily. For instance, a French person wishing to visit Lisbon can, in less than ten minutes, book his or her
flight on Kayak or Skyscanner18, and his or her hotel room on Booking. And on top of
that, the better rates available will be offered to the customers. Furthermore, according to a study conducted by Raffour Interactif, 71% of the French who went on holidays in 2016 have prepared their stays on the Internet, half of which fully booked all or part of
their stays online19. That being said, the Internet constitutes an undeniable competitor
to ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX business. -! Social networks and their bloggers
17 Internet Live Stats, available on internetlivestats.com/internet-users/ 18 Kayak.com and Skyscanner.com, flights comparators
19 Cherrier, V. (2015). Tourisme en ligne : 71 % des Français préparent leur voyage sur le web | APST. [online]
Apst.travel. Available at: https://www.apst.travel/2015/07/23/71-des-francais-partis-ont-prepare-leurs-sejours-sur-internet/ [Accessed 21 May 2017].
27 Social networks are facing a constant growth for recent years. According to a worldwide study on Social medias, the number of social media users has seen unprecedented growth, with an increase of 25% since January 2016. The same study showed that while Facebook experiences 1.871 million users, Instagram has six
hundred thousand subscribers20. A significant progression that does not escape to
companies, now using social networks when it comes to build their marketing strategies. Indeed, theses companies are creating partnerships with bloggers all around the world to promote their products. These bloggers are also promoting touristic places through their accounts and the more they have followers, the more people are influenced by their digital content. That is why social medias and especially bloggers sharing their experiences stand for a competitor to ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX venture. However, it is paramount for the founders to see it as an opportunity to bounce back and offer partnership with these bloggers.
VIII.!MARKETING PLAN
1.! SWOT ANALYSIS"The possible areas of environmental change that may affect a firm are inevitably very wide indeed, and even the largest organisations have not the time or resources to examine more than a fraction of the factors that might affect them.” (J. Grives Smith, 20XX). However, it is crucial for a company entering a new market to precisely identify its internal as well as its external environment.
20 Smart Insights. (2017). Global Social Media Statistics Summary 2017. [online] Available at:
http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/ [Accessed 28 May 2017].
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STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
-! Mental alertness and openness of
the two recently graduated
founders
-! Uniqueness of the concept to be implemented
-! Ecologically friendly packaging -! Low capital requirements
-! Support of founders’ network
-! Reluctance of investors and the market
-! Limited financial resources
-! Lack of experience within the industry
-! Lack of reputation
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
-! The subscription boxes: a booming industry
-! The declining market of the travel guides
-! Expansion of tourism all around the world
-! Bigger and already established brands entering the subscription box market
-! The touristic guide market
experiencing a rapid
transformation
-! The constantly evolving tools of digitalization
Figure 3 – SWOT Analysis (Personal representation)
As to the internal analysis, ‘ROUND THE GLOBOX entity presents numerous assets that could enable them to establish a successful venture. First of all, as said previously, both of the founders have been recently graduated from business schools with two different specializations. The programs they have attended to were international careers, which brought them the openness and the mental alertness needed to implement their start-up on the touristic market. Furthermore, Inès and Léo strongly believe that an open and curious way of living as well as professional priorities lead to a successful outcome.
